How ‘Dead By Daylight’ Lets Players Shape Their Characters In Unique Ways

In her official background, Yui Kimura leads a biker gang of women who - in addition to engaging in illegal street racing - protect other women from stalking and abuse. Her unique perks, such as the ability to reset obstacles, flavour her as a more passive support role, which Hart feels is in conflict with the personality she has in her lore and tomes: “I think Yui is more of a protector against the weak, to the point she'll put herself in danger rather than support people from the side-lines.”

Dead by Daylight has enjoyed its share of crossovers over the years – including with Resident Evil…

After reaching level 40 in Dead by Daylight, you can choose to use other survivors' perks instead of your own character's unique abilities. With this customisability, Hart chooses to channel Yui's background into a more aggressive build. Abilities like 'Object of Obsession', which allows both survivor and killer to see each other's aura; 'Head On', which lets the survivor stun the killer by jumping out of a locker; and literal flash grenades in 'Flashbang' combine for a build based around disorienting and disabling killers, giving other survivors time to hide and get away.

This ability to mix and match perks also makes player choice more superficial – as unique perks no longer dictate build, continuing to play a specific character at high levels is more of a personal choice. Hart continues to main Yui because they admire her lore, but also because of their reading of the character as a lesbian.

“[I]n her lore, her father wants her to be a traditional Japanese woman and get married to a guy, get a teacher's job and just basically stick to tradition instead of racing bikes 24/7. It's because she defies this tradition that she ends up leaving and moving to another city," Hart explains.

While they clarify that being anti-traditionalist doesn't mean Yui can't be straight, her insistence on following ‘masculine pursuits’ (as it's phrased in the lore) and subsequent rejection by her family feels coded as a coming out narrative for Hart. Because of this, they equip Yui with the rainbow flag charm that Dead by Daylight released as part of their Pride update in June 2021.

“I really like Yui - she's a character who really does not give a f*ck about what men think of her," Hart says. It's part of what makes their approach to playing Yui so fun to play - that when there's a number of other women survivors, that aggressive-altruistic playstyle is all about running in headfirst to keep them safe.

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